Oh, my gym got one of those 45 degree leg presses. I've often been a critic of these even though I've never had a chance to train it regularly. From what i've read, it seems they don't carryover to your squat but are good for building your quads.

Yesterday, I done the following workout, basically trying to fit 2 sessions into one - Bench Press, Deadlift, Front Squat, Turkish Get ups, Pull ups. Afterwards I thought I would give the leg press ago, although I was pretty fatigued by this point.

I got up to 6 plates per side - i'm getting with the leg press lingo here. You don't measure in weight, you measure in Plates Per Side. Never understood this before but I do now. There seems to be no point in adding (or removing) anything less than a 20KG plate per side on this. I'm not sure if 6 plates per side is good or not. I kept the reps at 8, started one plate per side, and just kept adding a plate per side and doing sets of 8 until I felt I hit a rough 8RM.

I was tempted to just keep adding to it and bring the rep range down. I can see why it gets called an ego lift. Adding all those plates is fun and definitely appeals to me. I want to get them to a point where I need to add plates on top of it because I've ran out of room on the sides but, I don't know how I would measure load in that case because loading at the top isn't really the "side" and I don't think my mind could cope with that.

Whether it's actually any use or not remains to be seen but, it's definitely fun.

One issue i've had and seen covered here is the lower back. I tried to keep a good ROM but, as the weight got heavier I could feel pressure and discomfort in the lower back. Also, I guess because i'm quite light, when it's heavy my body wants to slide off the seat, despite the angle of the seat which would think prevents that. I can fix this by gripping and pulling on the handles, though. My lower back did hurt a little after this session which never happens with me. I think i'll need to keep the ROM short which means only one thing - more plates!

KPj

you're doing it wrong! You're supposed to use the leg press for ridiculously high reps, drop sets etc

Actually,I was aware of the need for "ridiculously high" reps. Hence the sets of 8

I didn't think you were into cardio.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

well Kenny gets to brag about his clients, and Stu and Andy both get to brag about how strong their sons are getting, finally I have some vicarious success to share!

My girlfriend has gotten very into training, and has gone from using the 5k dumbells for lunges at the start of the summer, to now being able to do lunges with the 20k dumbells! That's more than two thirds of her bodyweight! She's also better at planking than I am.

I'm very proud of her. The routine I've had her doing is:

lungesDumbell bench/rowStep UpsPulldowns/Hip thrustsFace Pulls/Planks

she does that three times a week and is coming on leaps and bounds. She's also added 5lbs of muscle.

I'm going to have to get her front squatting soon which worries me as I tried to get her to squat once before and it was literally the worst attempt at a squat I've ever seen. In fact, I might go start a thread about this...

My training is finally getting exciting again. It's been a long journey. Not felt like this about my training for a long time.

This year has been the process of getting everything back. Notable things for those who care. I just like to summarise

-I'm getting wiser. I'm more cautious. For example, I know I can deadlift at least the heaviest that i've ever deadlifted, I've just not done it yet. Instead, I'm making lighter weights feel heavier by changing variation, and being very strict with form. Same with the squat. I now pick a variation that places emphasises on my weakest part of the lift, or I try and get more volume with slightly lighter weights rather than going balls-to-wall.

-Training almost has structure to it now (I work from 70-80 hours per week and average one day off every 4-6 weeks).

- My hamstring practically feels like it's never been injured. I never thought it would ever feel as good. I also think I nearly tore the other one because I had a serious issue with putting everything to one (the good) side when doing bilateral lifts and I really strained the other hamstring a 4 months ago. All good now, though. I feel comfortable enough to start smashing GHRS and the likes again, now.

-My bench has had it's usual roller coaster journey. Picked up a shoulder/neck injury on the good side. Then got "labrynthitis" (sp) which screwed it up some more as I couldn't lie on the bench. I changed my bench press technique and it screwed me up, too. I went flat footed instead of up on the toes. I would like to finally compete and looking at next year to put my money where my mouth is. Right now i'm just trying not to be an idiot, trying to get all functional and healthy, and will decide in January. Anyway, to compete I need to bench flat footed. I can't get as good an arch and I struggle to keep my a$$ on the bench and/or get as much leg drive.

I reckon half my old bench press came from the legs and the ability to arch so much. I need to bench with a closer grip when flat footed. I don't know why, I just do. I think my old style was all about leverage and leg drive where as now I actually need to use some upper body strength to move the weight. I hated it but one thing I did like was not having to become a contortionist for every bench set I did. I opted to use "ladders" (1,2,3-1,2,3-1,2,3) because this approach calls for frequency (2-4 times per week) and good, non grinding reps, which is what I needed to learn a new technique. I started a weight that was too light and have added 2.5 KG every session and now i'm nipping at the heels of my old numbers with the old technique. It feels like it's moving. I wonder if the new technique will make the old technique even stronger? hmmm

-I've done this whilst dropping 10lbs in bodyweight recently, too.

-I still drink too much coffee and don't sleep enough.

-I started training the massage therapist in the gym which means I get at least one massage every week

-I've been learning how to box as my "conditioning" and I'm loving being coached rather than doing the coaching.

_________________Stu Ward_________________Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~HippocratesStrength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley_________________Thanks TimD

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